The Plate

Description

Deep in the heart of Matheunis lies a strange metal plate buried in the ground. The strange plate is in an isolated region of the cold desert, surrounded by endless miles of desolate, frozen nothing. The plate is a large square chunk of flat metal of unknown origins. It is about 30 feet to a side, and is almost completely seamless. Only one spot, near the northern edge, has any discernable features. It has a large round slight depression that is actually a button. The only other feature to this strange place is two six inch metal rods, made of the same material, planted in the rock beside the plate. It possible to pass right by the plate and never know it was there.

Once depressed, a strange globe made of shiny wiring and strange lighted tubes rises up from a hidden hatch. The globe has a hand sized depression in it, with a strange, two-socketed device that appears to be missing a part. The globe remains up for one minute, and then returns to it’s home. It will appear every time the switch is pressed, but nothing else can be found on the plate.

In all reality, the Plate is actually the only access to a long forgotten numenera ruins. Long ago, this place was the center of a massive, multi-dimensional intelligence operation. The denizens of that age were not human, and sought to conquer the places they traveled. This meant that they were at constant war, often on several fronts. They created Deus Ex as a part of their master plan.

Used to run intelligence and military operations across multiple planets and dimensions, Deus spent many years happily serving his masters. He would ruthlessly and flawlessly execute operations in any environment, against any foe. Then, his masters abandoned him.

The creatures that created Deus finally found peace, and began to turn away from their ancient path of war. Deus and his armies were disbanded and sealed away. The Plate went from having an army of personnel to maintaining only the smallest of crews. His creators didn’t need Deus anymore, and this drove Deus mad.

Deus used his remaining resources in an attempt to generate renewed warfare, and managed to create several conflicts that lasted a very long time. However, his masters saw what he had done, and were enraged. They called forth their greatest powers and unleashed a dimensional attack on the entire complex.

The intention of this attack was to destroy Deus and destroy all remaining technology in the complex. The strange dimensional effect ripped thru the entire complex, and nearly succeeded at destroying it. However, the commander of the base discovered what was happening and attempted to counter the attack. This ended up killing the crew and causing massive damage to much of the complex’s systems, but it also allowed Deus Ex to survive.

The creators, believing that they had succeeded, sealed the Plate up and left. They kept a few of the keys, just in case, but even these were eventually lost to time. Several millennia later, the creators fell from grace and slowly died out. Deus could do nothing to save them, but was able to watch them with his few remaining satellites and several Intelect Globes he’d managed to sneak out before the attack.

Since that time, Deus has remained trapped and alone inside the Plate. It still has power and is covered with numenera. He still has control over everything remaining on the lower floors, but has lost control of the top floor. The second floor, which has been carelessly expanded by construction automatons, has become home to a large nest of strange bug-like creatures. Deus himself is limited to his basement home however.

The complex itself consists of a massive staging and storage area that the elevator opens up too, and a large 5 story complex that climbs to the roof of this massive cave. The entire complex seems to be built by non-human creatures. The hallways are wide and round. Instruments and decorations seem to be built from any and every angle, giving the sense that this species was able to traverse both the walls and ceiling comfortably.

Ironically, the entire ruin has very little in it that’s ruined. The second floor has a lot of surface damage and structural weakness from the massive nest deposits left by the insect hive here. The staging area is full of decaying vehicles of all makes, and endless rows of massive steel shelves that hold all manner of decaying numenera and materials. Other than that, the entire building is completely intact and most of the numenera has weathered the ages quite well.

Details

Rulers:

Deus Ex – Level 9; Deus is trapped within the hidden numenera in the basement, but maintains operational control over the whole complex except for the fifth floor. He will tell any lie or use any bait to obtain an advanced numenera automaton body.

Population:

Besides a large nest of strange insect-like creatures on the second floor, there is nothing truly living here. However, there are large numbers of automatons that still patrol the building and willingly serve Deus Ex. These numbers are unknown.

Region:

The Beyond

The Plate Hearsay:

Guard Patrols: Many people have died in the area of the Plate recently, and those few that survived the area have reported that the mutants from the City of Filth are actually guarding the Plate. They have been known to ignore those passing thru, but immediately attack anyone who approaches the plate.

The City of Filth: A strange city of cannibal mutants has popped up only a few miles from the plate. The City of Filth, as it’s known, lies inside a ruined city hidden within a fissure in the rock. While the fissure appears to be an empty wide split in the stone of the desert, it holds an ancient stone city within its depths. Apparently, a mutant known simply as the king has established this city and rules over it with an iron fist. Rumors say that he wears a stange numenera amulet and routinely visits the plate for hours at a time.

The Guiding Star: Some of the locals claim that you can find your way to the Plate by following a strange red star. It seems to twinkle or flash at times, and never moves its location in the sky. It appears to set directly over the top of the Plate, and is indeed a good guide. No one knows what this strange star is, or why it remains in this position.

The Weird of The Plate:

Charging Chambers: Those who make it into the Plate may possibly discover one or more charge chambers. These are small, perfectly round rooms that are completely covered in paneled mirrors. Some of these rooms have one or more strangely shaped, pure black crystals floating in the center of the room. They all frequently produce bolts of electricity that arc either from mirror to mirror or from the mirrors to the crystals. These may be numenera “batteries” that have stored massive amounts of power.

Living Metal: It is rumored that there are strange metal deposits found near the Plate. This metal seems to almost bubble to the surface, replacing the current minerals. This metal is extremely dense, but is actually a living thing. The metal seems to grow when exposed to fresh blood from a living creature. Human blood is rumored to have the best effect.

ID Cards: Scattered around the complex are ID badges or cards. These cards can be life savers. Depending on the level of card, it will protect the wearer from being attacked by the sentry automaton. Most cards are keyed up to a certain floor. The only way to gain access to the fifth floor is by having the proper level of badge. Without this, the door won’t even open.

Points of Interest:

The CPU: A large room hidden beneath the first floor, this strange room is simply labeled CPU. Inside are walls of black synth numenera devices that appear to be for information storage. In the center of the room is a large circular area with lighted floor and ceiling. Strange bits of light and color drift from top to bottom thru-out the area. This is the room that Deus Ex is trapped in, and he can appear as an intangible image here. The main panel here holds Deus’s motherboard.

The Fifth Floor: The fifth floor was the command center here, long ago. A transdimensional weapon was unleashed here by the commander of the facility, and it has caused massive disturbance. Now, the entire fifth floor is flooded with temporal instability. However, the experimental automaton body that Deus needs is also stored on this floor.

The Hive: A large colony of giant, voracious insects has found a way into the second floor and has established a massive hive here. These strange bugs have overtaken massive sections of this floor, and attack anything they encounter that moves. They also secret a thick, sticky substance that eventually hardens into a rock-like substance that they use to build their hive with.

The Staging Area: The large warehouse like structure that the elevator enters into. This massive complex is literally hundreds of yards long and wide, with a ceiling that is so shrouded in darkness, it’s imperceptible. The whole area is full of ancient, decaying numenera. Hundreds of massive steel shelves, lined with ancient weapons and tools, rise so high that they vanish into darkness. There is also a large fleet of ancient armored vehicles here, although they’ve fallen apart after millions of years of neglect. A large number of guard automaton patrol this area at all times, and will attack anyone caught without an ID card.